Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Ola from the Azores

News from the ship's librarian, Laurel:



 6/2

Hello from the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal spanning nine beautiful rocky islands. We arrived here yesterday afternoon and have since been looping around at a slow speed and admiring the scenery. Most impressive so far was the island Pico or “peak,” named for the nearly 8000-foot volcano that towers above the locals’ red-roofed homes.

The cadets have been very happy for the change of pace, and almost all of them were seen sprawled across the sun deck, close to the bow, for a portion of the day. They snapped many pictures and talked excitedly about the first signs of civilization we’ve seen in more than a week, pointing out wind generators, cars, and houses high up in the hills.

Of course, the real highlight for many of us has been the abundant sea life in the Azores. Sea turtles cruise past us, pods of dolphins swim by and play in our wake, and there is even the rumor of a right whale spotted at some distance from the bow.
In other words, it’s beautiful here! Look out for pictures of the islands soon after we get to Italy.

Cadet Shout-Out: Joseph Jordan, Tyler Devins, Anthony Feola and Brett Reilly, all 3rd class mugs, want to say hello from the Azores to all their friends and family back at home.

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